Burning Blue Flames
by sassyfiestycrazychic
Summary: Sequel to The Party. The gang is back together and thier off to stop Azula. But do they know what Azula is really after?
1. The Big Day

**Ok so this is a sequel to my story "The Party". If you haven't read it, then I suggest you read it. You don't have to, but I recommend it. This story makes more sense if you do. Anyway, your wait is over! Here's Burning Blue Flames!**

**Me: Hit it Sparky!**

**Zuko: sassyfiestycrazychick don't own Avatar!**

**Me: Good job *throws food in his mouth***

**On with the story!**

Zuko's POV

"Wake up!" I heard someone yell. I assumed they were jumping on my bed because I found myself shaking and bouncing up in the air slightly. Reluctantly, I rolled on my back and looked up to see Katara, still in her pajamas, as she jumped up and down on my bed. She was laughing and smiling, her long hair flying across her face with each jump. "Come on, you've got a big day today!" she said as she plopped down and sat on my stomach.

I laughed. "If your referring to that ridiculously long war meeting then I don't see how that counts as a big day."

"Not anymore", she said in her I-know-something-that-you-don't voice. "Now get up and get dressed, but dress casual. Breakfast is on your desk. I'll be back in an hour and you better be ready to leave."

I watched as she crawled off my stomach and jumped off the bed. She half walked half skipped to the door.

"Hey, don't I at least get a good morning kiss?" I protested.

She put her finger on her chin as if it was a hard decision. "Nope", she said as she bounded out the room. Singing, I rolled out of bed. I walked over to my closet, thinking of the last time I wore something casual. I realized that it was before we won the war. Surprised, I quickly slipped my on my clothes. I never noticed how much I missed wearing them. For once, I felt like a normal teenager, something I could never be.

Hearing my stomach growl, I remembered about breakfast. I rushed into my study to find that breakfast was on my desk, just like Katara had said. As I started to eat, I noticed that she had made it herself, recognizing the taste from traveling together. She said she had a secret ingredient but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't figure out what it was. I was so busy eating my food I didn't notice Katara had entered the room until she coughed lightly. I was about to ask how long she had been standing there when she answered my unspoken question.

"I thought you would like the breakfast. Now come on", she said, leaving the room without waiting for my answer. Confused, I followed her out the room. She didn't look back once as she led me through the hallways. I was always behind her, which she apparently became annoyed about because she reached back and grabbed my hand. AS soon as we were side by side, she broke out into a run, dragging me with her. When we reached the palace doors, we kept running. We ran through the gardens, through the streets, and pretty much all of the palace grounds until we reached the city.

"What are we going to do here?" I asked.

"Shopping", she said, smiling. "You need to relax and have some fun. Oh, let's go into that store!" she said, running toward one of the many shops. I smiled as I followed her inside. I think I smiled the whole entire time we were there. All I know is that seeing her happy made me happy. After hours of trying on clothes, she finally said the one thing that was on my mind.

"We should go eat lunch."

"I agree", I said. "Does komodo chicken sound good?" She walked over and put an arm around my waist.

"That sound great", she said. We walked down the road until we came to my favorite restaurant. I walked up to the owner and handed him a stack of gold coins.

"I'll like two orders of my usual", I said.

"Sure thing", said the man. He swiftly pushed the stack of coins back towards me. "Keep it. It's an honor to serve the Fire Lord and Lady Katara. You two are heroes." With that he turned around and walked backed to the kitchen.

"That was nice", said Katara, but I was too busy to notice. I was focused on the customers. They kept stealing glances at Katara and me. At first I thought it was the fact that two heroes of war were walking around town. But now it was more noticeable.

"Here's your food", said the owner as he handed a basket to me. I nodded in silent thank you and grabbed the basket as I walked out. I walked down the street then turned down a long, narrow alley.

"Where are we going?" asked Katara.

"You'll see." It was her turn to be surprised. After a few minutes the alley opened up into a small meadow of panda lilies and grass. We walked to the center and sat down.

"Zuko this is beautiful", whispered Katara. I down into her eyes and said the only words I could while staring into those beautiful eyes.

"I know." We sat down and ate our lunch in mostly silence but it was a comfortable silence. After finishing the food, we lay on our backs and bathed in the sun, felling the heat on our faces.

"I was wondering", said Katara. "If you have time to work out, since being Fire Lord is such a very hard job."

"Are you trying to say I'm fat?" I countered, smirking. "I bet even now you couldn't out run me."

"Oh yeah", she said slyly, standing up. "Try me." And with that she took off down the alley, with me on her hells. She made it about halfway before I wrapped my arms around her waist and spun her around in the air.

"Gotcha", I whispered before capturing her lips in a kiss. "You know", I said as we broke away "I kind of like the whole sneaking around thing. Maybe we could runaway and get married."

"Oh yeah, because no one will ever notice the Fire Lord is missing."

Ignoring her comment I kissed her again. With her all me troubles melted away like a dream you forget as soon as you wake up. We kissed for what felt like eternity but was probably only 30 minutes before heading back to the palace.

Four hours later I found myself standing in the hallway outside of Katara's room. She had said she had one last surprise ofr me. I was nervous because ehte was meeting was just minutes away and I didn't want to be late. Right as I was about to tell her to her up the door opened. Katara stepped out and my jaw dropped to the floor.

She was wearing a one shouldered blood red dress that came to floor and hugged her curves perfectly. It was made from a fine silk that could only be offered my someone of the royal family. The dress was embroidered with two dragons that intertwined, made from gold thread. Her hair fell in chocolate waves down her back, with fresh red fire lilies intricately woven through it. She had a light coat of make up on that made her face glow.

"Close your mouth before bugs fly in" she said as she walked forward and placed a kiss on my cheek.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

'it's a surprised", she said, leading me through various corridors until we reached the doors to the ballroom.

"Is this it?" I asked.

"No. Now close your eyes" Following her orders, I shut my eyes. I felt her grab my hand and open the doors. After taking a few steps, we stopped. "Now open."

I opened my eyes to see the room filled with people from all four nations. Talking and laughing together. The room was filled with tables covered in every food imaginable. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. All the people we met on our journeys were there, as well as new faces. I turned to look at Katara, who was ecstatic.

"Surprise", she said. "Instead of a long war meeting to talk about Azula, I decided that we could have a party. Tomorrow we're all going our separate ways, so I thought why not have some fun before we leave."

I smiled at her. "That's a wonderful idea. But do they know about Azula?"

"No", she said frowning. "I don't want anyone besides the 6 of us knowing because it might not be that big of a deal. We might put her back in prison before anyone notices she's escaped. We also decided that since she's out for revenge we are going to protect the people she'll most likely go after."

"Honestly, I would have never thought of that", I admitted.

"That's not the best part. Toph and Aang are watching Iroh in Ba Sing Se, Sokka and Suki are takning care of Ty Lee, while you and I get to travel from place to place talking to people like King Bumi, only a little less crazy, to see if they've seen Azula."

I laughed. "You came up with that yourself, didn't you?"

"Yep", she said with a proud look on her face. "Now come on, let's dance." She took my hand and dragged me onto the dance floor.

When we reached the center, I put one hand on her waist and she placed hers on my shoulder and together we glided across the floor. Her dress moved with her every moment. I could feel everyone's eyes on us, but I kept dancing. It was like we were in our own little world, just the two of us.

"I didn't know you were such a great dancer", I whispered to Katara.

She leaned closer to me so that her cheek was pressed against mine, her mouth at my ear. "There's a lot you don't know about me", she whispered back. In one fluid motion she pulled back and took her hand off of my shoulder. She continued to pull away until only our hands kept us together. I swiftly twirled her around and pulled her back to me, our faces inches apart. She giggled.

"There's a lot you don't know about me too", I said. As the song ended, I gently dipped her and brought her back up. In the background I heard light clapping.

"Obviously", she said as she pulled me off the dance floor. She looked up at a raised platform at one end of the room and as I followed her gaze I noticed that Aang, Toph, Sokka and Suki were all standing there. "I forgot to mention you have to give a speech", she whispered into my ear apologetically.

"That would have been nice to know", I mumbled as I walked onto the stage. As I reached the front, I turned to face the crowd. I felt my stomach flip as I saw everyone's eyes on me. "Ladies and gentlemen", I said. "We are here today celebrating the one year anniversary of the end of the 100 year war. It's hard to believe that almost 2 years ago, my goal in life was to capture the avatar. Now I live to bring peace between the nations. Let us celebrate this glorious day!" The crowd erupted into cheers. The six of us stood together and bowed to the crowd. The feeling was overwhelming. But at the same time it felt wrong to lie to them, I so desperately wanted to believe that Katara was right and that fighting Azula would be easy, but I knew she was wrong.

"Come on", Katara said, bringing me back to reality. "We have to go greet the guest." For the rest of the evening I shook various hands, had random conversations and met possible allies. By the time all the guest left, we all looked like we were about to fall over in exhaustion.

"I don't think I've ever eaten so much in such a short amount of time", said Suki.

"I've never been this tired in my life", Sokka complained.

"Quite your whining", said Katara. "We have to get up bright and early tomorrow morning. I suggest we all go to bed."

We all willingly left the ballroom, grateful for Katara's motherliness. Sluggishly, we all walked down the hall, each going our separate ways to our bedrooms. By the time we reached Katara's room, it was just the two of us. After a quick good night and chaste kiss, I continued to my room. As soon as I closed the door, I slipped out of my robes, leaving them neglected don the floor. I crept into bed, enjoying the feeling of the soft, silky fabric. I was afraid that sleep wouldn't come because all my thought were focused on what we would do when we faced Azula. Finally sleep found me, but I wasn't able to enjoy it long because I was soon awaken from a dreamless sleep by a shrill familiar shriek that echoed through the walls, sending shivers down my spine. Still half asleep, I didn't realize what was happening until I realization sent fear coursing through my veins. I realized that it was familiar because it was Katara's.

**My normal cliffhanger! Bet ya didn't see the end coming. It was fun writing the zutara fluff. Read and review!**


	2. A Knock on the Door

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated it so long! I try to update regularly but my life seems to never have a normal pattern. Something unexpected always happens. But I'm back now and I would appreciate some more reviews. Anyway, on with the story!**

Katara's POV

As I closed the door behind me my eyes began to shut. Walking towards my bed I let my dress fall to the floor. Without bothering to put on my pajamas I slipped into bed, only in my bindings. I sighed and sank deeper into the silk sheets. As I was drifting into sleep, I heard a sound at the balcony door. My eyes shot open as I sat upright. The door knob jiggled until the door opened. I watched as a dark figure slipped inside and slowly walked toward my bed. I tried to see who it was but it was too dark to tell.

"Who are you?" I asked, trying to sound calm but my voice betraying me.

"Oh, so you don't remember me?" the figure said. The voice sent shivers down my spine. It was sharp, every word slicing through the air like a dagger. I knew that voice, but I just couldn't place it.

"What do you want from me?" I asked as the figure crept closer. They silently tip toed until they were steps away from my bed.

"Oh, I don't want anything from you", the figure said. AS they stepped into the moonlight streaming through the window, I gasped. "I just dropped in to say hi to little ZuZu."

"Azula", I growled, venom in my voice. I instantly went forward to attack her, but I saw a flash of silver. I stopped to back away but was too late. The next thing I knew she was stabbing a dagger into my exposed midsection. I felt a scream of pain escape my lips as she pulled the dagger away.

"Another loss for little ZuZu", she whispered as she left out the door to the balcony. I looked down and saw the sheets stained with blood. I pulled myself to the edge of the bed, planning to go to the door but realized I didn't have the strength. As I sat there feeling my life slip away, Zuko burst through the door.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice full of fear and panic as he saw all of the blood. He rushed to my bed and helped support me.

"Azula", I choked out with the last of my energy. "We were wrong. I was her next target." That was the last thing I remember before I completely blacked out.

0o0o0o0o0o

I woke up to see the sun shining through the windows, I took in my surroundings and noticed I was in a bed. I turned to see Zuko sitting in a chair beside the bed.

"Hey", he said quietly. He smiled at me lightly and I tried to do the same but ended up wincing as I shifted.

"What time is it?" I asked

"Morning. You weren't unconscious for long. Do you remember what happened?"

"Yeah", I replied grimly. "It's kind of hard to forget with the pain in my stomach." I tried to add humor to lighten the mood but was unsuccessful.

"We were wrong", he said. "We should have thought more."

"It's okay", I said, trying to reassure him but couldn't even convince myself. "Have the others left?"

"Yeah. They had to leave. Azula has to be close. We can't afford to lose her. But they wanted to stay."

"I understand. I would have done the same thing." I was about to ask when we were going to leave, but Zuko must have read my mind.

"We can't leave anytime soon", he said. "Don't try and tell me that you fell fine because I know you don't. We aren't going anywhere until your healed."

I smiled. "Looks like your starting to turn motherly like me", I said. "But I understand. Can we at least go into town?"

He started to object but then realized he wasn't going to win this fight."Fine."

Smiling brightly, I carefully began to sit upright, wincing slightly. I felt him panic and reach out to me but I put a hand out to stop him. I slowly swung my legs over the side of the bed and placed my feet on the ground. With one final push, I stood up. Looking around, I realized I was in his room.

"Come on, let's go", I said happily, turning my face to look at him.

He stared at me, his mouth hanging open. "You just got stabbed a few hours ago and you want to go into town?" he asked incredulously.

"Yep", I said grinning. "Stay here while I go get dressed. "I walked to the door, placing a hand over my stomach. It still hurt, but I wasn't going to let him know that. I opened the door to find a servant standing there.

"Oh, Lady Katara", she said when she saw me. "Would you like something?"

"Yes. Can you get me something to wear? I'm going out today." Her mouth hung open in shock but she quickly recovered. Nodding, she hurried off and before I knew it was back with a team of servants. They guided me back into the room and I saw that Zuko was gone before I was pushed into the bathroom. I sat quietly as my hair was combed and I was slipped into clothes. When they finally finished I looked at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a red spaghetti strapped sundress that fell to just above my knees. The dress was embroidered with a large while panda lily on the bottom right side. As I walked out the bathroom still clutching my stomach, I saw Zuko ready and waiting for me.

"You look lovely today miss", he said sarcastically, holding out his arm. "May we walk?"

I smiled back and linked my arm through his. "We shall." We walked until we reached the palace doors. As we walked through the streets, I soaked in the scenery. Children ran and played, completely care free. Young couples walked hand in hand, completely lost in their own world.

"It's bothering you, isn't it?" Zuko asked in concern, bringing me back to reality. I followed his gaze to the hand on my stomach.

"Not that much", I said. "I'm fine."

We kept walking until we reached the restaurant from the other day. "Stay here while I go get some food", said Zuko, pointing toward a bench. I quietly sat down and enjoyed the sunshine until I heard two young girls talking nearby. They were about in their early twenties, wearing fancy kimonos.

"I heard everyone left the palace except for her", one said, giving a quick glance over at me.

"Yeah", said the other. "I don't see why that little water tribe slut is hanging out with the Fire Lord."

I felt my blood start to boil, anger coursing through my veins. I was about to get up and say something when Zuko came back with the food. I smiled as he sat down next to me.

We spent the rest of the day talking and laughing without a care in the world. Every now and then he would ask about my wound, but other than that we spent the whole day without a worry in the world. By the time we reached the palace I had almost completely forgotten about Azula. Our relaxing day came to an end when we reached Zuko's room.

"Oh no", I said. On the door there was a note.

"_I'm still here"_, said Zuko, reading it out loud. "She's leading us on. It's a trap. She's trying to send us in the wrong direction. It's like a game to her."

I looked over at him, a serious look on my face. "Fine. Let the games begin."

**REVIEW! I don't care if it's flaming (as long as it's not about the pairing. It's a zutara fic so deal with it) just please comment. The more comments, the more time I'll take to update. So go ahead and press that little button down there.**


	3. Nightmares and Suspicions

**A/N: Hey I'm back with another chapter! And I'm in a good mood cuz the new season of Psych came on this week. I just might be happy enough to post another chapter over the next few days. Maybe even later tonight **** but I want more reviews!**

**Katara: The best girl in the world doesn't own ATLA!**

**Me: Awwwww**

**Toph: But she does own her new itouch.**

**Me: Right you are. On with the story!**

Toph's POV

I let the wind blow in my face as I sat in Appa's saddle. AS I thought about what happened to Katara, I had an uneasy feeling in my stomach. I feel like we shouldn't be here, like we should be back near the palace. Something in my gut is telling me that Azula isn't out for revenge, but I couldn't figure out what that something is.

"You alright?" asked Aang with concern in his voice. I loved him, but sometimes he was a little too clingy.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Does something about this feel wrong to you?" I asked.

He looked at me in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I feel like Azula is after something other than revenge."

"Don't worry, you're probably just paranoid", he said. I shrugged. He was probably right. I relaxed and laid on my back, closing my eyes. Even though going to Ba Sing Se felt wrong, I let myself be carried to sleep.

Katara's POV

Day after day went by until I had spent two weeks at the palace with Zuko. Every other day we would attend war meetings. WE would read letters and peace treaties all night and end up falling asleep curled up on the couch. We would regularly go out into town and sit in our special place. So far no one had seen Azula.

While Zuko was in a war meeting, I wandered off into the palace library. I hated not being with him. In two weeks we had become inseparable. As I looked through the books, I found one that caught my eye. Ai I opened it, I saw the book was called the Azember Stone. I was about to start reading it when I felt arms wrap around me from behind.

"Hey", Zuko said as he kissed my cheek.

"Hey", I said back, smiling. "What's the Azember Stone?"

His smile fell and he frowned. "Where'd you hear about that?" I lifted up the back so he could see it. "Wow. I never thought it was real."

"What do you mean?"

"When I was little, Iroh used to tell me stories. One of them was about the Azember Stone. Apparently whoever gets it in their possession gains amazing bending powers. It's like Sozin's Comet, only it works for all benders." He looked off into the distance, his eyes far away. "I always thought something this powerful was too good to be true."

"Well, where is it?" I asked eagerly.

"No one knows. Some say it was destroyed centuries ago. Others say that it was hidden so no one would ever find it. Uncle said that people had tried to find it but couldn't."

"Oh", I said, slightly disappointed. I shuddered inwardly as I thought of how similar the story sounded to the one about the library we traveled to. The one we were almost buried in. I was distracted from my thought when I heard my stomach growl.

"I guess it's dinner time", said Zuko as he lead me out of the library. I tried to enjoy the food at dinner but couldn't. I couldn't stop thinking about the stone. I was absently picking at my food when Zuko noticed my change in mood.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice coated in concern.

"Nothing. I'm just kind of tired. I'm just going to go to bed."

"Okay. I'll be there later tonight", he said. I quickly stalked out of the dining hall to his room. Ever since the incident with Azula, he hasn't let me be alone, afraid that something might happen again. Not that I minded. When I reached the room, I noticed that it had considerably darkened outside. I must have been walking pretty slowly. Without changing speed, I walked into the closet and changed into my pajamas. Like a zombie, I crawled into bad and closed my eyes, automatically falling asleep.

In my dream I was walking along the beach at Ember Island. The sun was setting over the ocean, turning the sky a reddish orange. I was wearing a flowing white dress that reached the ground. I walked until I reached a large rock. ON the rock was a gold necklace with a perfectly shaped purple stone in the middle. It glowed, giving off a soft purple light. It radiated power. Before I had long to admire it's beauty, the scene around me changed to the battle between Azula and Zuko. It was right before Zuko jumped in front of the lightning. The only difference was that everyone was there, Toph, Sokka, Suki and even Aang. They were all wounded, laying on the ground moaning in pain. Some were bleeding, some had multiple broken limbs. Before I knew it Zuko had stepped in front of the lightning and was also on the ground. I wanted to save them all, but I couldn't. I didn't have time. I fought Azula and eventually defeated her. I rushed over to everyone, first Zuko then Aang. They were both gone. Then I rushed to Toph and Suki, but learned I was too late. AS quick as I could, I ran to Sokka, my last chance for hope. I tried everything but nothing I did could make his heart start beating again. I felt tears pour down my face.

"No!" I screamed as I bolted upright in bed, my forehead sticky with sweat. I saw panting heavily, my heart pounding in my chest.

"What's wrong?" Zuko mumbled, rolling over to look at me. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Nothing", I said, running a hand through my hair. "Just a nightmare."

"Oh", he said, sitting up and pulling me into a warm embrace. "You look pretty shaken."

"Yeah. I'm fine though, just a little freaked. It was really weird, that's all."

He looked skeptical, but didn't press. Slowly, he laid back down, pulling me down with him. As I lay in his arms I thought about my dream. Something about it gave me an uneasy feeling. Somewhere in my gut, I knew it had something to do with Azula, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Giving up, I slowly drifted into a dreamless sleep.

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